Cold Case Files
by Lazi Bunni
Summary: Sifting through Sirius' old papers, Ginny and Harry discover an unsolved murder mystery. Determined to discover the truth, they go on a adventure with mobsters, warlocks, and timeless mysteries.


Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

* * *

Harry wasn't quite sure what compelled him to volunteer. Spending a week at 12 Grimmauld Place digging through the rest of the late Sirius' belongings was not something he would consider 'fun.'

A month had passed since the Department of Mysteries incident, and he hadn't spoken a word to anyone about it. He figured that everyone would skirt around the issue, treating him like a fragile doll that could break at any moment. Therefore, he was surprised when he received the letter from Dumbledore asking if Harry would like to help in the sifting through centuries of Black belongings and documents to see what was valuable or not.

His immediate impulse was to send a swift letter back with a firm 'No.' The more he thought about it, however, the more his mind began to change. Maybe it was a mixture of morbid curiosity, or just the sheer joy of the prospect of leaving the Dursleys, but by the end of the day he had replied to Dumbledore's letter with an affirmative response.

August the second dawned bright and sunny. Harry felt as though the weather mocked him, challenging his dark and gloomy mood. Ever since he responded to Dumbledore's letter, his doubt had begun to grow and fester in the corners of his mind. He was sure he wasn't ready to face the dark house again, with its cold demeanor and unpleasant memories.

Harry pushed all of these thoughts to the back of his mind. After a speedy breakfast, he said a quick and insincere 'goodbye' to the Dursleys.

"Where do you think you're going, boy?" Mr. Dursley asked from behind his newspaper."You still have the yard to do this afternoon. You have to earn your keep around here, you know!"

Harry ignored him, collected his trunk, and exited the house through the front door. He quickly walked to Mrs. Figg's house, feeling out-of-place in the pristine neighborhood with his battered wizard's trunk rolling behind him.

After a record-setting walk to Mrs. Figg's house, he knocked on the hot pink door (with a sign on the front: 'Beware of cats!') and was relieved when Mrs. Figg quickly answered. She was expecting him, as Harry and Dumbledore had his journey to Grimmauld Place perfectly planned, but Harry still felt like he was intruding on her Saturday morning.

"'Ello, Harry! Sorry I can't offer you something to eat or drink, but Dumbledore has your trip planned to the second. If you don't arrive within ten seconds of your planned arrival time, he'll have my head..." Mrs. Figg rambled on.

"'S okay, Mrs. Figg," he told her, but on the inside he was a little bit annoyed by Dumbledore. He hated how his life was always planned for him ... and little things, even just having a floo trip prepared for him, was enough to make his suspicious mind reel.

Harry picked up his trunk and made his way to the fireplace. After a near accident involving Mr. Tufts and his catnip, Harry was on his way to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

After a short yet bumpy ride, Harry fell out of the fireplace of 12 Grimmauld Place, and miraculously managed to stay upright. After the spinning in his head slowed down, Harry was able to look around. He had landing in the deserted kitchen.

"For such a well-planned trip," he thought, "I sure do have a poor welcoming committee."

Distant chatter and activity could be heard from the upper levels. Leaving the kitchen (it was slightly eerie when alone), Harry made his way up the stairs to the main story.

The first thing he saw when he entered the main level was Mrs. Weasley helping Tonks up from a nasty fall. Even after all the things that had changed over the past month, some things would always be the same. From Mrs. Weasley's kindness and compassion to Tonk's clumsiness, these staples of Harry's life oddly comforted him.

After helping Tonks regain her footing, Mrs. Weasley spotted Harry. She walked over and enveloped Harry in a maternal hug. "Oh, hello, Harry dear. Sorry there was no one to greet you when you first arrived, we've all been terrible busy. Even after all the work we did last year trying to spruce this place up, we didn't even get through half of the Black belongings! Hermione and Ron are anxious to see you, they're up in the attic looking through old papers, along with Ginny. You might want to make sure they're alright... there is some nasty things up there..." Mrs. Weasley started rambling on about the danger of old homes while Harry turned around to greet Tonks.

"Hey, Tonks." Her hair was a bright firetruck red in a boyish style. While still 'unique,' the style was almost normal for Tonks.

"Hello, Harry! Be careful of these blasted umbrella racks ... I've been tripping over 'em all day!" Laughing, Harry said goodbye and made his way up to the attic.

* * *

The attic was darker and even gloomier than the rest of the house, if that was possible. A think layer of dust kissed every object in the cramped and cluttered room. Boxes containing who knows what, blanketed furniture, and old chests were abundant. Harry heard shuffling coming from the back, so he made his way to that area.

As he rounded the corner of the last row of boxes and sheet-covered furniture, Harry spotted Ron, Hermione, and Ginny each sifting through their own box. Hundreds of papers laid scattered on the floor, with photographs making up a pile of their own.

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione cried simultaneously.

"Hello!" Ginny was quick to follow up with.

Hermione and Ginny each gave Harry a hug, while Ron and Harry just shook hands. Typical guys. They didn't talk much, just a general 'How are you?' Harry could tell that each was engrossed in the contents of their box. While his three friends quickly got back to their box, Harry looked through the already sorted photographs and documents. Marriage photos, birth certificates ('I wonder who Himbius Lohil Druidge was?') property papers, old letters... a wealth of history was to be found here. No wonder each of his friends hardly gave him a second look when he arrived... all of this knowledge was fascinating.

Deeply entranced in their work (they weren't getting any cleaning down, being too preoccupied by the documents), time quickly flew. About three hours later, Hermione and Ron had finish going through just two of the boxes. Ginny was only about halfway through hers, and Harry had hardly made a dent in his.

"Do you guys want to go down to the kitchen for some snacks or anything?" Hermione's voice cut through Harry's concentration like a knife, startling him. Ginny didn't seemed fazed, though, so she answered.

Ron agreed, as he had finished his box, but Ginny declined.

"No thinks, Hermione, I really want to finish this box. It has all these papers of a fascinating man, Thomas Frinke, and I really want to find out what happened to him."

"Oh, alright then, I guess Ron and I will just bring some up. Harry, do you want to stay here as well?"

Harry looked down at his box. He had barely made a dent in "Himbius Lohil Druidge." He decided to decline. "Yeah, I guess. I have hardly even started this box."

With that, Hermione and Ron left for the kitchen, unsettling what seemed like pounds of dust as they went. Harry's concentration went back to his box and the information he was learning. Another twenty minutes passed before Ginny's yelp cut through the air.

* * *

sorry it was short, but its just a prologue. It'll start to get interesting from here.

I'm sorry if the pace was fast… I just didn't want to spend too much time on trivial things that have no meaning to the plot. Oh, and also sorry for any spelling errors! It's one o'clock AM right now… and I'm kinda tired!

Please review with suggestions!


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